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<book id="85384">
  <title><![CDATA[The Centaur]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0449912167]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780449912164]]></isbn13>
  <work>
  <best-book-id type="integer">85384</best-book-id>
  <books-count type="integer">19</books-count>
  <default-description>In a small Pennsylvania town in the late 1940s, schoolteacher George Caldwell yearns to find some meaning in his life. Alone with his teenage son for three days in a blizzard, Caldwell sees his son grow and change as he himself begins to lose touch with his life. Interwoven with the myth of Chiron, the noblest centaur, and his own relationship to Prometheus, The Centaur is one of John Updike's most brilliant and unusual novels.</default-description>
  <id type="integer">2300813</id>
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  <original-publication-day type="integer" nil="true"></original-publication-day>
  <original-publication-month type="integer" nil="true"></original-publication-month>
  <original-publication-year type="integer">1963</original-publication-year>
  <original-title>The Centaur</original-title>
  <rating-dist>total:514|5:128|4:191|3:125|2:55|1:15|</rating-dist>
  <ratings-count type="integer">514</ratings-count>
  <ratings-sum type="integer">1904</ratings-sum>
  <reviews-count type="integer">778</reviews-count>
  <text-reviews-count type="integer">52</text-reviews-count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.70]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[487]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[46]]></text_reviews_count>
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/85384.The_Centaur]]></url>
  <authors>
        <author id="6878">
      <name><![CDATA[John Updike]]></name>
      <role><![CDATA[]]></role>
      <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6878.John_Updike]]></url>
      <average_rating><![CDATA[3.60]]></average_rating>
      <ratings_count><![CDATA[21947]]></ratings_count>
      <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[2556]]></text_reviews_count>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <reviews start="1" end="20" total="778">
    <review id="61063401">
  <user id="193310">
    <name><![CDATA[brian]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>        
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  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>7</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jun 25 09:17:25 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jun 25 09:47:21 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[when updike croaked out edmund white wrote that the father/son sections of <em>the centaur</em> were his personal favorite of the dead man's writings. you don't fuck with edmund white. <em>the centaur</em> is a strange strange book; flawed, but the good parts are really so good that white might be right: this could b...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/61063401">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/61063401?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="70220343">
  <user id="1850370">
    <name><![CDATA[Lawrence]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Albany, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1850370-lawrence?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Sep 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Sep 05 22:20:46 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 09 19:18:28 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is my second Updike (the other being &quot;The Poor House Fair&quot;).  I am wondering if one reads Updike on two levels.  The first is simply his prose which is, for me, rather like a big box of candy.  That is, irrespective of story, plot, or continuity, I am stunned and charmed by its delici...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70220343">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70220343?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="3845343">
  <user id="223377">
    <name><![CDATA[Katie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Philadelphia, PA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/223377-katie?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Jul 31 07:34:00 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jul 31 07:43:50 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is sadly underrated among Updike's oeuvre.  I think it's his best literary accomplishment.  The Centaur is both a distorted, modernized retelling of the myth of Chiron and a moving story of a father and son.  The prose is dense and rich, heavy with classical illusion; this isn't the easies...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3845343">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3845343?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="45525484">
  <user id="334035">
    <name><![CDATA[Sara]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/334035-sara?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Feb 05 20:25:08 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Feb 11 15:41:53 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Loved it! Was it pretentious? Well, yes. Any novel that attempts to recast the myth of Chiron is going to be a little but Updike handles it ably. But the real meat of the story is the father-son relationship that the myth inspires. Once you get used to the experimental style, you'll be totally blown...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45525484">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45525484?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="58050214">
  <user id="1930658">
    <name><![CDATA[Kerry]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Hillsborough, NC]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1930658-kerry?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Tue Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jun 01 07:33:11 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jun 02 10:25:06 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I love the character of George Caldwell.  As a teacher, I can relate to some of his feelings about his job and students.  I love how he talks to the other people.  At first, he seems totally crazy, but as the book goes on you realize what a good person he is and how much he worries. Complex characte...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58050214">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58050214?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="51160637">
  <user id="2164930">
    <name><![CDATA[Bucket]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2164930-bucket?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
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        <shelf name="literary" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Apr 01 11:43:15 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Apr 01 11:44:09 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is the story of George Caldwell - an aging, self-deprecating teacher whom everyone seems to love except George himself.  It is also about his relationship with his son, Peter.  The two end up spending three days in town when their car breaks down and then there is a blizzard, each stranding the...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51160637">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51160637?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="32370212">
  <user id="1266077">
    <name><![CDATA[Steve]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1266077-steve-gallup?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 1976</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Sep 08 14:12:59 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Sep 08 14:38:50 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read most of the Updike novels and short stories then available in the late 70s, and while I liked them I did rather agree with a criticism sometimes leveled at his fiction: There's such a big emphasis on marital issues (i.e., infidelity and divorce) that one is tempted to view him as a one-trick ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32370212">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/32370212?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="10534553">
  <user id="652004">
    <name><![CDATA[Grant]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Austin, TX]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/652004-grant?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="20th-century-american-literary-nove" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Dec 16 20:11:49 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Dec 16 20:11:49 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[looking back through this book over the weekend, i realized i had to change my review fron 4 to 5 stars.  the characters are engaging.  we have all been curious about the lives of the teachers and staff of the school we attend.  their connections, biases, weaknesses, strengths are viewed from the vi...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10534553">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10534553?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="16800867">
  <user id="578063">
    <name><![CDATA[Rebecca]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/578063-rebecca-f?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Thu Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Mar 01 18:22:22 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Mar 01 18:45:08 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Updike's &quot;The Centaur&quot; is a sad yet inspired ode to his youth growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch country in the late '40s.  Residents of a sleepy rural town are cross-portrayed as mythical Greeks in a surreal switching and overlaying of scene that would work perfectly as a film my Michel Gon...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16800867">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/16800867?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="44857702">
  <user id="1955236">
    <name><![CDATA[Christine]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Wheat Ridge, CO]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1955236-christine?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jan 30 09:44:34 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jan 30 09:46:38 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I give this book 4 stars because of the uniqueness of the storyline.  It starts out about a tired teacher living his tired life - nothing sexy there. What makes it unique is that the main character feels a strong connection with the mythical creature the Centaur. The character starts living some of ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44857702">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44857702?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="58413250">
  <user id="305756">
    <name><![CDATA[Marge]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Emerson, NJ]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/305756-marge?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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  <read_at>Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jun 04 08:42:01 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jun 04 08:45:39 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I was very moved by the narrative part of this book - the family story, the father/son story, the snowstorm story, the overwhelmed history teacher story - but I was not taken by the overlay of mythological allusions.  Still, I'm glad I read it.  For me, it was a meditation on being stuck, on loss, o...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58413250">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58413250?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="70395499">
  <user id="2060998">
    <name><![CDATA[Marti]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Rome, PA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2060998-marti?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
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  <read_at>Mon Sep 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Sep 07 15:50:20 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Sep 07 16:06:57 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[this was a book group choice.  i had never read it before, and probably won't read it again.  there were some enjoyable parts, but updike seemed to ramble a lot, and was rather incoherent in places.  i guess we will have done our homage to him after it is discussed next week.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70395499?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="51713313">
  <user id="2192429">
    <name><![CDATA[Ana-Catrina]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Jose, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2192429-ana-catrina?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Mar 27 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Apr 06 12:55:54 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Apr 06 12:57:35 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Very interesting. Based on the Greek legend o Chiron, the Centaur, who ultimately becomes the constellation Sagitarius. The book is Chiron's life while on Earth, but not exactly - it's a metaphorical look at the story, as well as the life of a science teacher. Food for thought.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51713313?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="65504202">
  <user id="2277187">
    <name><![CDATA[Jinny]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2277187-jinny?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jul 30 00:26:48 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jul 31 20:53:08 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[&quot;Must he wander forever beneath the blank gaze of the gods?&quot; Another goodie from John Updike. &quot;The Centaur&quot; is a fantastic, moving (but realistic!) depiction of a father and his son. Updike is the man.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65504202?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="62964407">
  <user id="909993">
    <name><![CDATA[Ed]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New Rochelle, NY]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/909993-ed?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Aug 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jul 10 16:03:29 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 08 21:36:25 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[One of his best, despite, or maybe because of,  all the mythological mind-play.  Anything Updike wrote with a teenaged character in it,  (usually himself,)   glows magically.  In his fiction, he understood kids better than he ever did adults, Bech and Rabbit notwithstanding.  Despite his erudition a...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62964407">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62964407?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="63807510">
  <user id="2143329">
    <name><![CDATA[Sharon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Hoffman Estates, IL]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2143329-sharon?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jul 16 19:59:24 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Aug 11 08:25:34 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I hadn't enjoyed Updike when I was in my twenties, but read The Centaur based on a WSJ review when Updiked passed away. What a revelation! The story is an amazing slice of life revealing the relationship of a boy and his dad, forced to spend a snowbound day or two together. Makes one appreciate one'...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63807510">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63807510?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="74611645">
  <user id="2404072">
    <name><![CDATA[Tom]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Hendersonville, NC]]></location>        
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2404072-tom?utm_medium=api]]></url>
  </user>
    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <sell_flag>false</sell_flag>
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  <read_at>Sun Jun 24 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Oct 15 07:48:30 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Oct 15 07:49:27 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A story laced with magical realism, about a centaur family, the father of whom teaches at a high school.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74611645?utm_medium=api]]></url>
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    <review id="51474087">
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    <name><![CDATA[Leigh]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Maplewood, NJ]]></location>        
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    <rating>5</rating>
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  <date_added>Sat Apr 04 08:13:18 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Sep 18 13:46:18 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Messy, passionate, and with great, epic characters.  The way Updike interweaves classic myth and small town American life is absolutely brilliant.  I loved this book.  It made me laugh, cry, and shake my head at Updike's utter genius.  It is unexpected in so many ways, and when I say it is messy, to...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51474087">more...</a>]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51474087?utm_medium=api]]></url>
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    <review id="48082029">
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    <name><![CDATA[Igetnervousinsocialsituationsmotherfucker]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Austin, TX]]></location>        
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  <date_added>Mon Mar 02 22:41:54 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Mar 03 16:59:37 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[What I learned from this book...is that the old man and I have some shit we need to work out.]]></body>
    <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/48082029?utm_medium=api]]></url>
</review>
    <review id="56380497">
  <user id="919169">
    <name><![CDATA[Mike]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>        
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    <rating>4</rating>
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  <read_at>Mon Jun 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun May 17 11:07:03 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 08 16:18:44 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It starts out slow but by the end you'd like it to go on for more.  Some passages in the book are poetic, for good (great imagery) and bad (a stuffy and awkward).  He sets the characters in motion even though there really isn't much to the action of the story, which to me makes the novel all the mor...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56380497">more...</a>]]></body>
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